Today’s tour of how Mendota’s spoiled chickens live took place at the Holbrook Farm on Barnrock Road.  Five fat, fluffy Rhode Island Reds live and lay here.   Helene’s set up is totally different from Jim and Lynn Otis which was the first chicken house I blogged about here.

The Holbrook hen house is…rather roomy.  Rather than build another structure on the farm, Helene used stalls in the barn and converted them into areas for the hens.   As you approach the barn, you begin to hear the peeping and chirping sounds of the hens as they interact with each other.  It’s so restful.

It’s dark and cozy in their enclosed area…all lined with hay… but you will have to take my word for it because it was too dark for pictures, although I did take one of their perch.  I’ve noticed that chicken owners always point out their perches.    It must be a status symbol!   “How big is your perch? ….or “My perch is bigger than  your perch!”

When they go out, they have a little exit area with a ramp.    Here’s one of the girls going down her ramp.   She looks so self assured.

These five hens have been together all of their lives and they get along well.   Rhode Island Reds are the state bird of Rhode Island.  I also learned when I googled them tonight that hens lay approximately 312 eggs in their first laying season and 223 in the second.

That is a lot of eggs!   Since Helene has only one breed of chicken, she has only brown eggs.   This egg was so fresh that it was warm.    It is a magnificent, perfect work of art.   Nutritious and beautiful.

So here they are outside in their chicken run.    That sunshine makes them lay more eggs!   It has wire on the sides and the top…not only to keep them in but to keep predators…like hawks…out!

 She left the little trees inside the run.  The little trees will give them shade and some interest this summer when they’re out scratching.   There will not be a bug or flea or tick around this chicken run.   

I tried to get a good picture of one of the girls…this was the best I could do.  I’m sorry!

And here’s what Helene’s Rhode Island Reds give her for the warm barn, the roomy chicken run and  the organic feed she buys them.    It’s a sweet deal.

We have three more chicken houses to visit in Mendota.  One is the Hen Hilton, one is the Holy Hen House (a preacher’s chickens) and the last is the Ultimate Pallet Hen House.